Digital TV News: DIRECTV

DIRECTV becomes a standalone video business
Aug 5, 2021 – AT&T and TPG have closed their agreement to establish DIRECTV as a separate company. The new company now owns and operates the former AT&T U.S. and Puerto Rico video businesses consisting of satellite, streaming and IP video services.
News categories: DIRECTV, Bill Morrow, Digital TV, MandA, Puerto Rico, Satellite, USA

AT&T premium TV down 473k; Vrio down 239k; HBO up 3.6M video subs in 2Q 2021
Jul 22, 2021 – AT&T (NYSE:T) has reported results for 2Q 2021. Global HBO Max and HBO subscribers grew by 3.6 million. Total U.S. premium TV connections were down 473,000 in the quarter. Vrio in Latin America lost 239,000 subscribers.
News categories: AT&T, Digital TV, IPTV, Latin America, Results, Satellite, Streaming, Subscribers, USA, Worldwide

Sky Brasil's SKY Connect 4K Android TV DVR powered by Wyplay
Jul 22, 2021 – Wyplay has announced that it is powering SKY Connect, the 4K Android TV DVR, recently launched by SKY Brasil, building on the work done for the launch of Linux STBs for SKY Brasil and DIRECTV Latin America in 2016.
News categories: Wyplay, SKY Brasil, Jacques Bourgninaud, Android TV, Brazil, Digital TV, Satellite, Set Top Box

Grupo Werthein to buy AT&T's Vrio operations
Jul 21, 2021 – Grupo Werthein and AT&T (NYSE:T) have announced that Grupo Werthein has reached an agreement to acquire AT&T's Vrio Corp. business unit. Grupo Werthein has agreed to acquire 100% of the equity in Vrio.
News categories: AT&T, Grupo Werthein, Vrio Corp, Lori Lee, Dario Werthein, Caribbean, Digital TV, Latin America, MandA, Satellite, Streaming

VIZIO announces first certified OAR technology partners
Jul 1, 2021 – VIZIO (NYSE: VZIO) has announced that LTN, Beachfront, FreeWheel, INVIDI, Google, Adcuratio and Extreme Reach are compliant with Open Addressable Ready (OAR) specifications and are certified to enable OAR campaigns.
News categories: VIZIO, Zeev Neumeier, Malik Khan, Ben Abbatiello, Stefan Maris, Bruce Anderson, Peentoo Patel, Advertising, Digital TV, Smart TV, Streaming, USA

U.S. consumers feeling pain of streaming service fragmentation
Jun 23, 2021 – According to a Horowitz Research survey, U.S. consumers are feeling the pain of chaos (too many streaming services) and fatigue as content is unpredictably fragmented across numerous, access-restricted streams.
News categories: Horowitz Research, Adriana Waterston, Howard Horowitz, Digital TV, Market Research, USA

'Go Addressable' TV advertising initiative launched in the U.S.
Jun 22, 2021 – Several U.S. television distributors and TV brands have announced the formation of Go Addressable, an industry initiative designed to accelerate efforts to deliver scaled, addressable TV.
News categories: Go Addressable, Adam Gerber, Mike Dean, Sean Cunningham, Advertising, Digital TV, USA

More than 11 million addressable TVs for VIZIO in the U.S.
Jun 9, 2021 – VIZIO (NYSE: VZIO) now has more than 11.2 million addressable TVs in the U.S. capable of frame-accurate dynamic ad insertion, representing a significant milestone for the addressable advertising consortium, Project OAR.
News categories: VIZIO, Adam Gaynor, Kristine Bayles, Darren Sherriff, JP Colaco, Steve Silvestri, Advertising, Digital TV, Smart TV, Streaming, USA

WarnerMedia trials national addressable TV with Comscore
Jun 9, 2021 – WarnerMedia is the first to formally participate in Comscore’s National Addressable TV programmer trials. Starting in late 2020, WarnerMedia executed campaigns across multiple MVPD platforms, with measurement powered by Comscore (NASDAQ: SCOR).
News categories: Comscore, WarnerMedia, David Algranati, JP Colaco, Advertising, Digital TV, USA